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Am I Enough For You?

by
Office of Marketing | Oct 30, 2014

In 2013, a car on a highway in Maryland turned too quickly to avoid an approaching collision and rolled down an embankment several times until finally crashing. The driver of that car, a recent University of Valley Forge (UVF) graduate, survived and was medevaced to the hospital. The doctors called his survival and recovery miraculous; Brice Karper ‘12 simply attributed it to God.

A year after several surgeries and more than 600 hours of physical therapy, Karper stood on the Flower Chapel stage on Oct. 20, 2014, as a guest speaker during homecoming week, and shared his testimony. The accident, or what Karper jokingly refers to as his “divine delay,” was a major setback for his life plans, as well as one of the most challenging and spiritually growing experiences of his life.

“The accident forced me to slow down and reevaluate,” Karper said. He had the next few months planned and ready in front of him, when suddenly, everything paused. Lying on the hospital bed in pain, Karper felt angry and confused in his heart. He repeatedly asked God, "Why would you let this happen to me now?" In return, God asked Karper questions of His own: "Am I enough for you? Have you become so in love with your dream? Am I still who you are pursuing first and foremost?" Reflecting on where his heart was, Karper realized he had unintentionally begun to put the call above the Caller. “God got me to the point where I wouldn’t know what else to do if He closed that door,” Karper said, “But at the end of it all, I knew I would still have God and we would get through it together.”

During chapel, Karper held a stack of handwritten cards and letters for the audience to see. The letters were from friends and family, letting him know they were praying for him and supported him. Many of those letters and cards were from the UVF community. When the university learned of Karper’s accident, the campus prayed together for his healing and recovery. Many people visited and called him, demonstrating the comfort of being a member of the body of Christ.

Karper learned the importance of God’s people when he was a student at Valley Forge. “Who you surround yourself with will impact who you become,” Karper said. “The relationships you build in college will stay with you for the rest of your life.” His family, friends and home church continue to stand by him and encourage him. That encouragement, and God’s faithfulness, helped Karper witness to his doctors, nurses and therapists — people he would have never met if not for the accident. Whether at the hospital or the rehabilitation center, he would let those around him know, in words and actions, that his recovery was a blessing from God.

Karper shared his time of "faith testing," as he refers to it, as encouragement to the student body. He learned that God will still use people during their trials to bring glory to Himself. UVF is overjoyed by Karper's recovery and the continued friendship he keeps with the university and its alumni — all of which are bonded together by faith and the spiritual connection shared here at Valley Forge.

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about UVF

The University of Valley Forge is a private Christian University located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, 35 miles northwest of downtown Philadelphia. UVF offers on its sprawling park-like campus, as well as online, over 50 undergraduate and eight graduate degrees in the Arts, the Sciences and the Professions. The university's mission is to prepare individuals for a life of service and leadership in the church and in the world.

about UVF

University of Valley Forge is a private Christian University located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, 35 miles northwest of downtown Philadelphia. UVF offers on its sprawling park-like campus, as well as online, over 50 undergraduate and eight graduate degrees in the Arts, the Sciences and the Professions. The university's mission is to prepare individuals for a life of service and leadership in the church and in the world.